New Year S Eve

Celebrate the New Year at the Gaylord Palms Resort at the Grande Masque, the New Year's Eve Gala for the Performing Arts. Michael Andrews and Swingerhead will join with the Orlando Philharmonic, Opera and Ballet for a black-tie New Year's Eve masked ball. A five-course meal, live and silent auctions and champagne toast are included. Hotel packages and a special children's party are available. Cost: $250. Details: 407-426-1733, Ext. 15. FIRE UP THE CHILI POT Kissimmee Parks and Recreation will host its seventh annual Sunshine Regional Chili Cook-off from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 18 at Lakefront Park.

HOLIDAY, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a 23-year-old is suspected of setting a house fire that killed his father on New Year's Eve. According to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, Baron Von Duke Vercruysse was arrested Tuesday. They say 52-year-old Rene Dominique Vercruysse died of "homicidal violence. " The Tampa Bay Times reports deputies believe a dispute between the father and son led to the death. However deputies did not release further details. Authorities found the father's body when they responded to the fire around 10:20 p.m. on Monday.

Question: My daughter works as a server at a local restaurant. While she spends most of her time waiting tables, she is regularly required to do "side work," such as rolling silverware and cleaning bathrooms. She understands this is part of her job, but she is paid a sub-minimum wage for her side work -- $3.65 an hour instead of Florida's minimum of $6.67 an hour -- even though it adds up to several hours a week during which she receives no tips. Since the reasoning behind allowing restaurants to pay servers less than the minimum wage is that their tips will (at the least)

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS — Mark Sita will let you bend his ear. Sita, 51, has been a bartender for 17 years at Nicker's Clubhouse Restaurant at Mission Inn Resort & Club. He just put in a 13-hour Christmas Day, serving up drinks and helping out the front of the house with the 1,000 reservations. Don't feel too bad for the guy, though. He's off New Year's Eve, so he won't be serving the resort's revelers ushering in 2013. "Actually, we're going to be hanging out here at the house relaxing.

Time to ring out the old and roll in the new again. Didn't we just do this? Here are events scheduled in Central Florida (in alphabetical order). As always, if you don't see your favorite restaurant or nightclub in the listings, call now and make reservations -- or check to see whether you need reservations. Happy 2002. And remember, be careful out there. Arabian Nights, special show with dinner, champagne toast, DJ and more: from 9:30 p.m. today; 6225 W. Irlo Bronson Highway, Kissimmee; $62.50 adults, $49 age 11 and younger; 407-239-9223 or 1-800-553-6116.

John Coit, 38, a newspaper columnist who was married on New Year's Eve in the lobby of the Rocky Mountain News, died of a heart attack Saturday.Coit, hired by the News from the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., complained of chest pains about 2:30 a.m. Saturday and was driven by his wife, Susan, to a medical clinic. He died later in a helicopter on the way to a hospital.Coit was a news and feature writer for southern newspapers for 15 years before coming to Denver in August 1983. He received the 1985 Colorado Community Service Award from the American Legion.

Hoping to prevent traffic deaths and injuries, two Orlando wrecker companies will offer free towing services to motorists too drunk to drive home on Christmas and New Year's eves.Hughes Wrecker Service, 2801 E. South St., will tow the cars of drunken drivers to their homes at no charge on Christmas and New Year's eves.On New Year's Eve only, National Wrecker Inc., will provide free tows to motorists who live within a 5-mile radius of its office at 2401 S. Orange Blossom Trail.Officials of both companies said Tuesday they are offering the service to keep as many drunken drivers off the road as possible during the holiday season.

Last New Year's Eve offered one of the all-time great television spectacles, with fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, dancers atop the Sydney Opera House and Peter Jennings' marathon coverage to mark the millennium. This New Year's Eve, the true start of the millennium, will be decidedly low key. The ageless Dick Clark will host three specials for ABC - on WFTV-Channel 9 locally - possibly to make up for his diminished role during last year's festivities. His chores start with Dick Clark's Prime-Time New Year's Rockin' Eve from 10 to 11 p.m. Sunday.

The storms that swept through Central Florida on Tuesday night might have dampened a few party dresses, but it didn't drown out the New Year's Eve partying at downtown Orlando's Wall Street Plaza. There were just too many people in town Tuesday looking to have a good time: College football fans prepping for today's Auburn-Penn State game, young people who have dubbed Wall Street the place to be on New Year's and older locals who made do despite the rain. "We have every intention of getting bombed," said Chris Edgar, 28, an Auburn alumnus from Atlanta.

To welcome the New Year in Jamaica, partygoers dance for hours and sip a cherry-red punch of chilled sorrel until sunrise turns the horizon orange.In the Bahamas, New Year's Eve revelers dance the night away in a wild Junkanoo parade. For elaborate costumes and pulsating tropical music, Junkanoo is second only to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil or Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The favorite food of Junkanoo is peas and rice, made with lumpy, pale green legumes called pigeon peas or gungo peas.

ABC was the big ratings victor on New Year's Eve, according to preliminary ratings released Tuesday. In prime time, the Disney-owned network saluted the late Dick Clark, who had long ushered the nation into new years. A two-hour Clark tribute averaged 9.4 million viewers. At 10, Ryan Seacrest took over the host duties in Times Square, and ABC averaged 13.3 million viewers. Also at 10, NBC's New Year's Eve celebration with Carson Daly pulled in 3.8 million, an increase of 23 percent from last year.

William "Mike" Liggett will never forget the headlights coming toward his family and the sickening realization that a truck was about to crash into them. One minute, they were on their way home back from Christmas Eve dinner with relatives in Indian River County. The next, a pickup hit their Chrysler PT Cruiser as they drove along State Road 60 in Polk County. The truck driver, Michael Sisco, 58, of Lake Wales had been barreling down the wrong side of the four-lane divided highway for a mile before the collision at Boy Scout Road, east of Lake Wales, witnesses told the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

The folks at the Greater Orlando Actors Theatre just can't stop celebrating since they moved into their new Winter Park theater. Now, the GOAT crew's throwing a New Year's Eve party called "The World Ain't Ending" - with a Las Vegas theme. Admission is $20, inexpensive as New Year's bashes go, and includes food, drink and entertainment. Paul Castaneda, Ian Clark, Paul Hambidge, Jessica Hondel, Michael Gunn, Dan Middleditch, Desiree Perez and Katrina Richards will provide the entertainment, with dancing, karaoke and Vegas-style games (no actual gambling)

New Year's Eve might be the biggest party night of the year, but you don't have to wait for the ball to drop to start your celebration in Central Florida. From beachside road trips to bowl games, holiday dining to hockey, cooking classes to benefit bashes, there's no shortage of diversions. Of course, there are plenty of New Year's Eve bashes, too. This year's party-patrol options range from a theme-park soiree to a cozy club concert by one of Orlando's favorite bands to a massive downtown street celebration.

Television has big plans to usher in 2013 on Monday night. Your choices on New Year's Eve include: ABC: The network marks the first New Year's Eve since Dick Clark died. "America Idol" host Ryan Seacrest will be in charge. But first, ABC will salute Clark with a two-hour retrospective at 8 p.m. Fergie and Jenny McCarthy guide the special. At 10, Seacrest hosts the live festivities from Times Square. Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen, Neon Trees and Psy will perform. Fergie hosts the West Coast party and welcomes Justin Bieber, Jason Aldean, Greyson Chance, Ellie Goulding, the Wanted, Brandy, Flo Rida, Karmin, OneRepublic and Pitbull.

If fixing Christmas dinner with all the traditional trimmings isn't on your list of wonderful things to do next Friday, West Volusia does have a reasonably adequate choice of restaurants at which to enjoy the holiday meal. But, reservations are running out at some of them, so it would be wise to pick up the phone pronto to check out the one that's your favorite for special occasion dining. Also, some restaurants do not plan to be open on Christmas Day, but most will be on Christmas Eve. Almost all will be open on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Hopefully, your quick phone call will pay off, and you won't find yourself filling out a grocery shopping list for the big day.If you should decide to just take a chance, and not make a reservation, be prepared for disappointment.

It's time to start chilling the bubbly for New Year's Eve. Today at Orlandosentinel.com/thedish I've posted my guide to great sparkling wines that cost less than $15 along with a selection of easy appetizers. In the meantime, let's dish: Really, more leftovers? Just when you found the freezer free and clear of the Thanksgiving foods, here comes a whole new batch of bowls and tubs brimming with the remnants of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations. Well, here's a heads up, chief cooks and bottle washers - the party season is still at full tilt.

A concert by REO Speedwagon will be the centerpiece of the New Year's Eve celebration at Universal CityWalk . The rock group, known for hits such as "Keep on Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling," will give a live performance during Dec. 31 celebration, which also includes a selection of gourmet cuisine, admission to seven CityWalk nightclubs and a traditional midnight champagne toast. Admission to the event is $124.99 if purchased by Dec. 15. Tickets are $144.99 if purchased between Dec. 15 and Dec. 31. There is a discounted price for Universal Orlando annual passholders of $104.99 through Dec. 15. More info: www.universalorlando.com .